Industrial truck attachment



July 24, 1951 s. WEISS INDUSTRIAL TRUCK ATTACHMENT 2 Sheets-$heet 1 Filed Feb. 19, 1949 INVENTOR. SAMUEL WEISS ATTORNEY July 24, 1951 s. WEISS 2,561,396

INDUSTRIAL TRUCK ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 19, 1949 2 SheetsQSheet 2 INVENTOR. SAMUEL WE! SS M/ ZAALZU ATTORN EY Patented July 24, 1951 INDUSTRIAL TRUCKATiuj'uzriinan'r' Samuel Weiss, Portland; Oreg; ApplicatiofiFebruafi"19, 1949,? endemic. time it 'lhis invention;like-the my" copendildg and companion" application for patent, Serial No. 77,418, filed Fehrhary 193 1949;- an'd also entitledf Industrial Truck-Attachment,

fcernedwith an" attaehinent for end-"lift" in a'n indnstrial end'liltor elevator truck; and;-

ceitain articles with assistance and without manual contact with-such the truck operator;

Whereas the inventionin the said copendin'g application-relates more particularly to the lift-- iiigia'ndmoving of metal-"drums and crates havingribs'or'c'leats'on the vertical side walls; the pres articles' 'on" the part of" or metal-barrels which have the usual outwardly bowed-or convex side 'walli flfhe'principal object of the present invention therefore-is to provide an improved attachment for the-end lift above indicated which Willfacilitate the handling of ordinary barrelsand'sirnilar arti'cles loy the truck.

This obj ect'a-nd' other incidental advantages 1*- a'ttain" by constructing, arranging} and employing my industrial truck attachment as' hereinafter described with reference to" the accompanying" drawingsin'which;

Fig; l-is a-front elevation'of the-attachment;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding side-elevation-of the same; I

Figtjl is a view'in pe'rspe'ctiveof the attachment itself; and" 7 Figs A, and 5C are diagrammatic side el'evations of the attachment illustrating the opera tion of the same in the handling of an ordinary barrel; I

In the drawings, lfl indicates'the' forward por tion of an industrial truck' equipped with" the customary" end "lift, the end lift being indicated iii-general by l I; which endlift is tiltablymounte'd at the forward end of" the truokas usuali The end lift-has an elevator frame I QWhich is raised or loweredin truck:-

My attachment is -adapted"- to be removablysecured to the elevator frame 1 '2 by means ot-bolts by t which the mounting member [3" fastened invention descritie'(:Fin-

10 thetrnck withoutadc'litional the necessity ofany of'industrialtrucks of-thetype the end-lift by the operator on the on the frontfaceof the elevator'frame l2.-- The mounting member angle iron or made in similar form with aback plateandbottom plate substantially perpendiculair to 'ea'chother anct welded together to'form' the-desired-m'ounting" member. A-pair of vertical-hrackets-l l (Figs;'1-to-4) are formed integral with, or welded to, the mounting member are-located near-each endof the mounting member*respectively."' The purpose of these brackets is tosupport" the transversely-extending hinge shaft! 5 onwhich the load-engaging arm assel hblies; to be mounted.

Each arm assembly includes-a main mounting plate -16 which has "alt-integral sleeve I! on its rear face and an integral rear upWardly-eXtendingarm" 23 terminating in a top'sleeve IS. The"- eaeh mounting plate I6'is slidablysleeve l! of and hingedly mountedon the shaft [5 as shown.

A threaded positioning shaft 24- extends" through the upper sleeves I8 of the two-arma-ssemblies and is-scured'in one of" the sleeves l8 a pair of nu-tsifil the hinge shaftl5 asdesired.

A p'air of 'standards; shapedas shown in Figs;- l'g Z-aiid' 4, each-having an upright tubular portion" mounting plate. carried -in each-i faoe f-eachplate 30" near the front end thereof and' ar od 3'2"ex'ten s'through the two sleeves 3|;

extending: therethroug-hbut the rod is'slid'able in the other-sleeve 3|; The purpose of therod 32- and sleeves-3i is -to keep thetwo 'topplatesiifl and their 'sup'porting bars 29 from turning laterally whil permitting the two top 'plates to move to 7 two arm assemblies includes a frn'wardly-extend 111g arm l9 having a web-like bottom bracelfl with the arm and web extending from, and formed integral with; a supporting plate *2 I1 The supporting plates '2! areattached by means-of 7 l3 extends horizontally or transversely and" maybe made-irom-a strip 01"- IB, and

presently described, are hingedlyand are positioned on the upper A top forwardly-extending bolts to the front face of the main mounting plates l6, respectively, below the upright standards.

As shown in Fig. 1, each arm plate 2| is attached to the main mounting plate l6 of the assembly by a bolt 33 near the upper inside corner of the arm plate 2| and by three additional bolts 34 which extend through slots 35 in the arm plate 2|. The arms l9, instead of having their inside faces parallel to the vertical side edges of the plates 2|, are so positioned on their respective plates that their inside faces will extend obliquely upwardly and outwardly when the side edges of their plates 2| are vertical. This particular mounting of the arms I9 is shown clearly in Fig. 1. However, the slots 35 in the mounting plates 2| through which the bolts 34 extend, permit these mounting plates to swing laterally on their other bolts 33 in their mutual vertical plane and thus enable the inside faces of the arms l9 to be brought more nearly into vertical position. The reason for this mounting arrangement will be indicated later.

When my attachment is secured in position on the end lift of the truck by having the mounting member |3 bolted near the bottom of the elevator frame |2, as previously mentioned, the manner in which my attachment is employed for lifting and moving an ordinary barrel can now be described with reference to Figs. 5A, 5B and 5C. In these figures an ordinary barrel is indicated by the reference character B and this barrel is understood as having the customary outwardly bowed side wall without any ribs on the side wall which might otherwise aid in the lifting of the barrel.

The arm assemblies of my attachment are first adjusted (Fig. l) by means of the positioning collars 26 on the shaft 24 until the distance apart of the opposed faces of the two arms |9 is slightly greater than the bottom diameter of the barrel B, but less than the diameter of the barrel at its central thicker portion. With the arm assemblies so adjusted the truck l approaches the barrel B, with my attachment in the relative position shown in Fig. A, the elevator frame l2 of the end lift being raised (or lowered) until the forward ends of the top plates 3| will strike the top face of the barrel. The top ends of these plates are preferably curved slightly upwardly as shown in the drawing to aid in having these plates engage the top of the barrel and then slide over the top of the barrel as the truck moves forward.

When the top plates 30 are brought into engagement with the top of the barrel, in the position shown in Fig. 5A, the elevator frame H of the end lift is moved downwardly a short distance in order to lower the arms l9 near to the bottom or smaller diameter part of the barrel, and at the same time the truck i moved forward into position against the barrel. Consequently the truck and end lift attachment are now brought into the position illustrated in Fig. 513. Since the top plates 3|) are carried on their sliding bars 29, the arms l9 can be lowered while the top plates are sliding over the top face of the barrel.

When the members of the end lift attachment are in the position with respect to the barrel shown in Fig. 5B, the elevator frame l2 of the end lift is then raised. The raising of the frame in the end lift, and with it the lifting of the loadengaging arms will cause the arms l9 to slide upwardly on opposite sides of the barrel until they reach a point on the barrel where the outside diameter of the barrel has increased to such extent that the arms I9 will no longer slide upwardly on the barrel but will lift the barrel with them as they continue to move upwardly.

Due to the fact that the supporting plate 2| (Fig. 1) of the arms l9 can swing slightly laterally and outwardly in their mutual plane on their pivot bolts 33, as previously described, the opposed inside faces of the arms H) which are in contact with the opposite sides of the barrel respectively, will automatically adjust themselves to conform to the slope of the outside surface of the barrel as the arms |9 move upwardly over the barrel surfaces. This fact not only enables the arms l9 ultimately to gain a more satisfactory hold on the barrel, but, in the event the barrel should have a relatively thin wall, prevents any likelihood of the engagement of the arms I8 with the barrel from damaging the barrel wall. which might possibly occur if such engagement between the arms and the barrel were limited only to points on the edges of the faces of these arms, for example.

While the arms l9 slide upwardly on the barrel Surface until they come into gripping and lifting engagement with the barrel, the top plates 30 will continue to rest on the top barrel due to the fact that the bars 29, to which the top plates 30 are attached, will slide in their mountings. The lifted barrel will finally occupy the position in the attachment as illustrated in Fig. 5C and in this position the barrel may be moved by the truck as desired.

Since the lifting arms l8 must engage the barrel below its widest diameter portion, and thus below the normal center of gravity of the barrel load, there might be a tendency, under some conditions, for the barrel to tip forwardly instead of remaining balanced on the arms l9 when in raised position and, if such forward tipping became exaggerated, conceivably the barrel might then swing down forwardly and out from the arms if this were not prevented. However, the weight of the top plates 30 and their engagement with the top face of the barrel at all times while the barrel is being supported on the arms l9, and the fact that these top plates 30 while movable up and down can not tip on their supporting bars 29, will prevent any tendency on the part of the barrel to tilt while supported by the arms l9.

Thus both the fact that the automatic adjustment permitted for the arms l9 enables these arms to have a better grip on the barrel, and the fact that the top plates are in constant engagement with the barrel top, insures proper handling of the barrel with my attachment.

As apparent from the preceding description, the handling of an ordinary barrel can therefore be performed by a single operator on the truck without any other assistance and without the necessity of any manual contact with the barrel.

I claim:

1. In a barrel-lifting attachment for use in combination with an industrial truck, a main mounting member adapted to be secured to the end lift on said truck, a pair of arm assemblies, means for supporting said arm assemblies on said member, said arm assemblies being laterally adjustable with respect to each other, a positioning shaft for adjusting the lateral spacing between said arm assemblies, a forwardly-extending arm in each of said assemblies, and a pair of upwardlyextendingbars in said arm assemblies, mountings for said bars in said assemblies permittingsaid bars to slide up and down in said assemblies, 9.

face of the pair of top plates secured to the upper ends of said bars respectively, said top plates extending forwardly substantially parallel to said arms and adapted to rest on top of the barrel being lifted by said arms to prevent tilting of said barrel in said arms.

2. A barrel-lifting attachment of the character described for use in combination with an industrial truck, said attachment including a main mounting member adapted to be secured to the end lift on said truck, a pair of arm assemblies, means for supporting said arm assemblies on said member, said arm assemblies being laterally adjustable with respect to each other, means for adjusting the lateral spacing between said arm assemblies, an arm-supporting plate in each of said assemblies, said plates extending in the same substantially vertical plane, a barrel-engaging arm extending forwardly from each plate, said arms having opposing faces for engaging opposite sides of a barrel to be lifted, a mounting for said armsupporting plates permitting each plate a restricted lateral swing in their mutual substantially vertical plane, whereby said opposing faces of said arms may be tilted to conform respectively to the upward slopes of the corresponding sides of the barrel to be lifted, and a pair of upwardlyextending members in said arm assemblies, mountings for said members in said assemblies permitting said members to slide up and down in said assemblies, a pair of top plates secured to the upper ends of said members respectively, said top plates extending forwardly substantially parallel to said arms and adapted to rest on top of the barrel being lifted by said arms to prevent tilting of said [barrel in said arms.

3. In a removable attachment of the character described for an end lift truck, a main mounting member removably securable to the elevator of the end lift, a horizontal hinge shaft by said member, a pair of load-engaging arm assemblies laterally slidable on said shaft, a positioning shaft for adjusting the lateral spacing between said arm assemblies, each of said arm assemblies comprising a substantially vertical main plate, an arm-carrying plate adjustably carried mounted on the front face of said main plate and a forwardly-extending arm extending from said arm-carrying plate, said forwardly-extending arms having opposed load-engaging faces, whereby said opposed faces can be set at any desired angularity with respect to the vertical, for any predetermined spacing between said arms, to conform to the respective sides of the load to be engaged, a standard secured to and extending upward from each main plate, and top load-engaging means adjustably carried in said standards.

4. A removable attachment for an end lift truck including a main mounting member removably securable to the elevator of the end lift, a horizontal hinge shaft carried by said member, a pair ,of load-engaging arm assemblies laterally slidable on said shaft, meansfor adjusting the lateral spacing between said arm assemblies, each of said arm assemblies comprising a main plate and a forwardly-extending arm adjustably secured to said main plate, said forwardly-extending arms having opposed load-engaging faces, whereby said opposed faces can be set at any desired angularity with respect to the vertical, for any predetermined spacing between said arms to conform to the respective sides of the load to be engaged,

ard and top load-engaging means carried by said telescoping bars.

SAMUEL WEISS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

